The fashion and gift shop is having a closing down sale at the moment, with many items heavily reduced. It's always a shame to say goodbye to a local high street business that gave it a go and good luck to Angela and her team in the future.

Think I remember commenting when it opened and everybody on here saying 'fantastic, brilliant, I love it' etc. I said it won't last cos no-one will use it and was poo-poo'd for saying so...well...sorry to see it go but all the people on here are all full of bluster and buying the odd postcard etc really won't keep a business running..

"people have to buy things to support local bussiness" erm.... Was the expenditure of energy needed to type that really necessary? "support local bussinesses" can mean mention them on a blog like this and encourage them to try it but after that it's up to the store to attract enough custom. No shop can rely on the generosity of customers, they're not charities.

I remember the days when shopping streets were lined with estate agents. Hairgelled, besuited and often acned. The Darrens and Damiens would in turn ferry timewasters to lookaround overpriced conversions and fend off calls from impatient sellers anxious to make a fast buck.

@Anon 11.54 - It would be easier for the rest of us to verify your foresight if you were to use a name rather than hiding behind the blanket of Anonymous.I admire anyone who has the guts to open a business. Most take enormous risk in order to live their dream. All too often things don't turn out as hoped and the budding entrepreneur is left to lick his/her wounds. I really hope the lady in question has managed to get out of the business really cheaply and I wish her all the very best for the future.Hopefully someone else will take over the lease and bring something both viable and different to Ladywell.

I think Slater & King are doing okay but there's a big difference between turning a profit and making the kind of money that justifies the risk and the long tedious hours stood waiting for custom. The shop looks lovely though and they add to the beautifully fitted along the parade.

OMG really sad news, but yes too much competition in a small village dont really need two gifts shops we now have so many chicken shops, which has forced the fish and chips shop to reduce the price of their fish and chips, and the new chicken shop is already complaing that it is very quiet in ladywell..hello??? they should have done your research and bought something different

Engedi are relocating.. whilst they are closing in ladywell I understand that they will still be doing the fairs and festivals in the area, but they are looking at other shops not too far from ladywell

The thing about an area like Ladywell is that there is clearly a growing demographic (judging by the amount of workers that disgorge form the commuter trains home every evening at Ladywell station) but that apart from El's Kitchen, there is not really another business on the high street that demands their attention.

Slater & King is a nice shop, but is not open at 'peak' times.

I think another Deli, maybe a wine-merchant would be perfect, or a bar similar to the Gantry - somewhere that attracts people to convene in the evenings.

Ladywell is a difficult middle-ground - some lovely housing, but still with a rather neglected feel.

The moribund looking shops such as Mayal etc only add to this humdrum feel.

Sorry to see Engedi go, I think having more than one gift shop was great as it made the village a shopping destination as there was more to pull you in. Tough times to make a small business work and a brave move to do so and succeed. I wish Engedi all the best.

Really sorry to see Engedi go. It would have been nice if Slater & King had been genuinely original and not initially taken Engedi's ideas. It would have been great for the village to have had two unique shops.

I agree with Anon (1 July) that a locality like Ladywell "can provide a living for only one shop" of this kind. Slater & King would have known this, especially as they were seen scoping out Engedi's shop weeks before opening and constantly thereafter. The giftware market has many suppliers. Have Slater & King no imagination of their own or is it just as Anon states "ruthless logic" on their behalf.

That sounds pretty harsh - can you substantiate those claims? It's quite normal for a shop to check out the competition; are you sure they weren't scoping it out to make sure they didn't stock the same stuff? I remember one incident when Slater & King first opened when they accidentally stocked one product that En Gedi was selling; they apologised for this. The fact is, Slater & King is a much better presented and more enticing than En Gedi ever was. The shop front and window dressing are both far superior. En Gedi could have tried to steal a march by at least being open when S&K is closed on a Monday, but no.